Prime Focus P S Full Moon a Publication of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society

Highlights of the February Sky. . .

------1st ------PM: Saturn upper right, Regulus below Moon. Prime Focus P s Full Moon A Publication of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society

------2nd ------PM: Regulus above Moon. February 2007 ------4th ------Dusk: Mercury 6º lowerlower right of Venus next 3 eve- nings. ThisThis MonthsMonths KAS EventsEvents ------6thth ------Dusk: Uranus 1º aboveabove Venus. General Meeting: Friday, February 2 @ 7:00 pm

th ------7th ------Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center - See Page 2 for Details Dusk: Mercury at greatest elongation; visible low in west. Board Meeting: Sunday, February 11 @ 5:00 pm

------8th ------Sunnyside Church - 2800 Gull Road - All Members Welcome AM: Spica upper right of Moon. Observing Session: Saturday, February 17 @ 7:00 pm

th ------10th ------February Freeze Out - Kalamazoo Nature Center - See Page 13 Saturn at opposition.

Last Quarter Moon

------11thth ------AM: Antares lower left of Moon. InsideInside thethe Newsletter.Newsletter. .. ..

------12thth ------General Meeting Preview...... p. 2 AM: Jupiter upper left, Antares upper right of January Meeting Minutes...... p. 3 Moon. Board Meeting Minutes...... p. 4 ------14thth ------Dawn: Mars left of Moon. Twelve Commandments...... p. 4 Observations...... p. 5 ------17thth ------New Moon. Great Comet of 2007...... p. 6

------19thth ------The Owl Observatory Project...... p. 7 Dusk: Venus below Moon. Spitzer Peeks at the Pillars...... p. 9 ------23rd ------NASA Space Place...... p. 10 PM: Pleiades below Moon Star Parties in 2007...... p. 11 ------24thth ------First Quarter Moon February Night Sky...... p. 12

------27thth ------KAS Officers & Announcements...... p. 13 PM: Pollux upper right of Moon. www.kasonline.org

Kalamazoo Astronomical Society presents

Presented by Dr. Kirk Korista Associate Professor of Astronomy Western Michigan University

Since the release of the Hubble Deep Field image in January 1996, astronomers have made great leaps toward piecing together the early history and evolution of our universe. As they peer through space with their telescopes, they also peer back in time. As more light is gathered and sharper images come into view, we are beginning to see the history of the cosmos play out. The cosmic microwave background radiation is a relic of the early smooth hot/ dense 'soup' that was our universe some 400,000 years after its expansion began. Some 14 billion years later, our universe is anything but smooth, with planets, stars, galaxies, clusters of galaxies and super clusters of galaxies having condensed out of the expanding, cooling and now extremely tenuous soup. How did that happen? With big telescopes astronomers are getting their first glimpse of the era of galaxy formation. Future astronomers may have the chance to image the very first star clusters to form! What were the conditions of the early universe which ultimately led to the formation of the first stars? What were the properties of these stars? How did galaxies form and then grow? Dr. Korista will present what is known (and yet unknown) about these and related questions. Friday, February 2, 7:00 p.m.

Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center Located on the fourth floor of Old Central High School Use Dutton Street Entrance

For more information please visit our web site: www.kasonline.org JanuaryJanuary MeetingMeeting MinutesMinutes

The general meeting of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society Huygens turned to mechanics after a visit to the newly was brought to order by President Richard Bell on Friday, formed Royal Society in 1661. He studied falling bodies in a January 5, 2007 at 7:16 pm. Approximately 47 members and vacuum in 1665, elastic collisions in 1668, and the inverse- guests were in attendance at the Kalamazoo Area Math & square proportion of gravity in 1669. Huygens again Science Center (KAMSC). switched his focus back to light. He made discoveries in the wave behavior of light, double refraction, and interference. The feature presentation of the evening was given by six-time Huygens finished his scientific career by examining the two KAS President and KAMSC teacher Mike Sinclair. Mike great unanswered questions of his time. He wrote about life continued his biographical lecture series with a talk entitled in the universe in 1681 (still a mystery today) and then again Second Only to Newton: The Life and Works of Christiaan worked on measuring longitude at sea in 1682. Huygens. Born on April 14, 1629, Christiaan was the second child of Constantijn Huygens and Suzanna van Baerle. Huy- Mike then discussed some of the key figures Huygens met gens was home schooled until the age of 16. Mike explained with during his lifetime. These include John Wallis (1661), that Huygens read heavily because his father would con- Robert Boyle (1661), Robert Hooke (1663), Gottfried Leibniz stantly quiz him at the dinner table. (1672), and finally Sir Isaac Newton himself (1689). Mike said Huygens and Newton met privately three times in a two Huygens attended school at the University of Leiden and the week period, each meeting lasting several hours. It is not College of Orange at Breda. At first he studied law and logic, known what they discussed. It became clear from the letters but soon moved into science and mathe- they exchanged that Huygens was perhaps matics. Huygens first work was in mathe- the only person Newton considered a matics. He made major discoveries in peer. Mike said that Huygens would be circular motion (1651), geometry (1654), better known today if he had not lived in probability theory (1657), and derivatives the same era as Newton. (1658). This was followed with an inter- est in optics. Huygens developed an im- After the snack break, Richard presented a proved lens grinding technique, improved very special gift to Mike Sinclair for his the Leeuwenhoek microscope, and con- many excellent presentations and years of structed his own two-lens compound mi- service to the KAS. It was an original croscope. He also invented more power- Darth Vader profile trading card from The ful astronomical eyepieces, which are still Empire Strikes Back series. This card has in use today (albeit only on department been in Richard’s private collection for store telescopes). nearly 27 years. (If you haven’t guessed, Mike is a big Darth Vader fan. Visit his Huygens built his own telescopes and office and classroom at KAMSC some- used them to make many fundamental time for proof.) discoveries. He discovered Titan, satellite of Saturn, and in 1655 discovered that Saturn has rings that Richard then presented the very first “Member of the Year” no where touched the planet. Galileo thought Saturn’s rings award to Jean DeMott. Roger Williams suggested honoring were some sort of “earlobe-like” feature. Huygens was also Jean in some way for her fund raising efforts with the plant the first to realize that Saturn’s rings were not solid, but made sale, so the Board decided to create this award and make her of separate particles. He was the first to observe the Orion the very first recipient. Jean has done much more for the Nebula in 1659. In fact, the bright region surrounding the KAS since she joined in 1997, so the award was well de- Trapezium stars is still called the Huygens Region today. In served. Richard then continued with his president’s report. 1661, Huygens observed dark nebulae and double stars for He reminded everyone to renew their membership and intro- the first time. He was the first to coin the term “double star”. duced the 2007 KAS Officers and At-Large board members.

It was around this time that Huygens made the first of his Several members reported observing the Geminid Meteor many discoveries in physics. He studied pendulum motion in Shower and the northern lights display on December 14th. 1656, which allowed him to build his first pendulum clock in Unfortunately, there were no observing reports of Comet 1659 This led to the development of the spring regulated McNaught due to the typical west Michigan winter cloud clock in 1660 and the couple pendulum clock in 1663. The cover (see pages 5 & 6). We then covered upcoming events, purpose of building better time keeping devices was to solve including another installment of Full Moon Theater on Janu- th the longitude problem, which was of major concern to 17th ary 26 . Richard then asked (begged!) for Prime Focus arti- century maritime power, Holland. cles. The meeting concluded at 9:05 pm.

Prime Focus Page 3 February 2007 and of what should be included in a grant application to the Kellogg Foundation that Richard is considering. Roger re- ported that Molly Williams has volunteered to help with the Board Meeting Minutes grant writing. The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m., with the next meeting set for February 11th.

The KAS Board met at 5:00 pm on January 14, 2007 at Sun- Respectfully submitted by Roger Williams nyside Church. Present were Richard Bell, Dick Gillespie, Rich Mather, Dan Morgan, Jack Price, Dave Woolf, and Roger Williams.

Rich Mather presented the Treasurer’s Report, including a cash flow report for the whole year 2006. Receipts for the year exceeded expenditures by $557.85. Current assets were for Amateur Astronomers $6,584.93, but this value will be increased by a number of membership renewals received but not yet deposited and by a 1. Thou shalt have no white light before thee, behind thee, $1,000 Pfizer grant obtained by Jean DeMott. or to the side of thee whilst sharing the night sky with thy fellow stargazers. In the category of January events, Full Moon Theater plans th 2. Thou shalt not love thy telescope more than thy spouse were set for January 26 , with DVD’s on hand for the pro- or thy children; as much as, maybe, but not more. gram. The Board voted not to go with an idea for popping corn on site, opting for the usual bags of pre-popped corn. 3. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's telescope, unless it exceeds in aperture or electronics twice that of thy Richard reported that meeting programs are pretty well set for wildest dreams. 2007. Kirk Korista is confirmed for February. Former KAS 4. Thou shalt not read Astronomy or Sky & Telescope on member and President John Kirchhoff has agreed to do a pres- company time, for thine employer makes it possible to entation on webcam imaging in March. In April, Will Millar continue thine astronomical hobby. will report on viewing in Australia and South Africa (the April meeting was moved to the 13th to avoid Good Friday). 5. Thou shalt have at least two telescopes so as to keep thy Professor Horace Smith from MSU has agreed to speak at the spouse interested when the same accompanies thee May meeting. For the Messier Marathon, Richland Township under the night sky or on eclipse expeditions to strange Park is still the preferred site, but the township had not yet lands where exotic wild animals doth roam freely. been contacted about the proposed event. Rich will check 6. Thou shalt not allow either thy sons or thy daughters to with the township. get married during the Holy Days of Starfest.

In new business, the Board discussed criteria that might be 7. Thou shalt not reveal to thy spouse the true cost of thy used in making the Member of the Year award. There was telescope collection; only the individual components and consensus that there should be a provision for nominations that shall be done with great infrequency. from the membership at large. Dave Woolf agreed to work on 8. Thou shalt not buy thy spouse any lenses, filters, dew a form for this purpose. Dave had to leave before a discussion shields, maps, charts, or any other necessities for of his efforts on developing a form for equipment check-out, holidays, anniversaries, or birthdays unless thy spouse but he will consult with Richard before the next board meet- needs them for their own telescope. ing. Dan Morgan reported on his investigation of possible vendors for a robotic telescope imaging session, proposed last 9. Thou shalt not deceive thy spouse into thinking that ye month as a possible club event. The clear choice was Rent-a- are taking them for a romantic Saturday night drive Scope, which has 8 telescope-CCD setups in New Mexico, when indeed thou art heading for a dark sky site. Australia, and Israel. The observing session is done entirely 10. Thou shalt not store thy telescope in thy living room, over the Internet, with image files downloaded at the end of dining room, or bedroom, lest thou be sleeping with it the session. Costs range from about $55 to $145/hr, with a full time. discount for first-time users. The Board agreed to consider the idea further. 11. Verily, observe not through thy neighbor's Astro-Physics or Takahashi, lest thee be utterly consumed by the lust The schedule for public viewing sessions was discussed. of apo-fever, and thy brain and thy bank account shall Earth Day in 2007 is on April 21st, which is also the official shrivel and wither like branches in a flame. nationwide Astronomy Day, so this is the clear choice for our Astronomy Day. Other observing session dates were agreed 12. Verily, observe not through thy neighbor's Dob of upon, and Richard suggested some ideas for a more effective Goliath, lest thee be lain bare to the fires of aperture- brochure containing the dates. The rest of the meeting was fever, and thy sanity, thy sacroiliac and thy life savings spent in consideration of how the Pfizer grant should be spent be crushed as ye grapes of wrath.

Prime Focus Page 4 February 2007 ObservationsObservations by Richard S. Bell

We’ve missed the brightest comet in over 30 years. That’s a The coma was so bright it saturated the pixels on the satel- hard fact to swallow. West Michigan astronomers know all to lite’s CCD camera! On January 12th, Comet McNaught en- well how poor the winter weather can be, but that doesn’t tered the field of the Large Angle and Spectrometric Corona- make it any easier. As a result, I believe I’m suffering from a graph (LASCO) camera aboard the Solar and Heliospheric deep astronomical depression. The last time this happened Observatory (SOHO). A movie of the passage can be found was after the Leonid Meteor Shower in November 2001. That on the SOHO web site. It includes a near occultation of the was the year of the infamous “Leonid Fog”. It was so thick planet Mercury by the comet! you couldn’t even see across the street let alone the night sky. As a result, we missed a true meteor storm. The comet then became visible in the southern hemisphere. There were several reports and images of the comet in broad The story of our latest let down begins on August 7, 2006. daylight, so I thought I might have one last chance to see Robert H. McNaught discovered a comet on CCD images McNaught for myself. The afternoon of January 16th was obtained with the 0.5 meter Uppsala Schmidt Telescope at mostly sunny. The comet was supposed to be 11º to the lower Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. He described the left of the Sun, so I searched with 10×50 binoculars with no comet as magnitude 17.3, with a faint coma 20 arcseconds luck. I then tried a systematic search of the area with my Tele across in moonlight. After a few days of observations, Brian Vue Pronto. I used a 41mm Panoptic eyepiece, which gives a Marsden calculated a perihelion date of January 11, 2007 and 5.5º field with the Pronto. If I couldn’t find it with that I a perihelion distance of only 0.170 AU, which indicated the couldn’t find it with anything! Alas, no luck. comet could become a bright object in twilight. As I type this, reports and images of the comet are flooding in The comet steadily brightened throughout late summer and from places like Australia, where the comet was first discov- the fall of 2006. It was eventually lost in twilight during ered. I encourage you to visit Sky Tonight and SpaceWeather much of December. As 2007 began, the comet was still deep for some of the beautiful images. I’ve included two of my in twilight, but was brightening rapidly. Reports placed favorites here. They were taken by the discoverer himself. Comet McNaught at magnitude 2.5 - 3.0 on January 1st. Re- ports from amateur and professional astronomers skyrocketed The last time a comet this bright was seen is 1976. In March as the second week of January began. Comet McNaught of that year Comet West was a grand sight. Unfortunately, I brightened rapidly in the days that followed. It attained a missed that comet as well. Heck, I was only 5 years old at the magnitude of 0 on January 6th, -1 on January 7th, -2 on Janu- time! Comet McNaught has turned out to be the brightest ary 9th, and -3 on January 11th. comet since Ikeya-Seki in 1965. The estimated maximum magnitude of that comet was about -10 or -11! Let’s hope we Let’s put this into perspective. Comet Hale-Bopp reached a don’t have to wait another 30 years for another West or maximum magnitude of about -1 in April 1997. What made McNaught. Not sure I can (or want to) wait that long! Hale-Bopp so special was that it maintained naked eye visibil- ity for 18 months, far longer than any other comet in recorded history. Comet Hyakutake reached magnitude 1.5 in March 1996. Under dark skies, observer’s reported a maximum tail length of 90 degrees!

I tried to observe the comet in both the morning and evening sky, but the cloud cover wouldn’t allow even a glimpse. Our best shot was probably on the evening of Wednesday, January 10th. The western sky was clear most of the afternoon, but started to cloud up again shortly before sunset. There were several reports from the rest of Michigan. Looks like our close proximity to Lake Michigan has done us in again. The last possible chance to see Comet McNaught was on Saturday, January 13th, but it was completely overcast.

A visitor from the outer solar system seems to pay a visit to the site The comet entered the field-of-view of the Solar Terrestrial of its discovery, Siding Spring Observatory. Robert H. McNaught, Relations Observatory (STEREO) satellites on January 11th. photographed the comet he discovered on January 20 with a Canon Operators opened the door of the SECCHI/HI-1B instrument 5D DSLR camera. The image above, taken with a 50mm lens at f/2, for the first time since the satellite was launched in October is a 50 second exposure at ISO 640. The image on page 6 was taken with a 135mm lens at f/2.2. It’s a 120 second exposure at ISO 2006 and saw a breath-taking view of the comet’s dust tail. 200. More images can be found on the Siding Spring web site.

Prime Focus Page 5 February 2007 TheThe GreatGreat CometComet ofof 20020077

by Robert H. McNaught TheThe OwlOwl ObservatoryObservatory ProjectProject by Richard S. Bell

Owl Observatory was dedicated on August 22, 1998. It was In the past six years, thousands of people have passed through the culmination of many years of dreaming, designing, and the observatory door and peaked through the 12” SCT. Our construction. In fact, some of my earliest memories in the largest crowds were during our Astronomy Day events from KAS are listening to members wish for the day we had an 2001 - 2004 and for MarsWatch on August 27 & 28 in 2003. observatory at the Kalamazoo Nature Center. I’ve even found An estimated 1200 people gazed at the red planet during its articles from the 1970’s in the Local History Room at the historic opposition on the first night alone. Many students Kalamazoo Public Library that discuss plans of the KAS have passed through the observatory. Both Mark Miller and I building an observatory. Ground was actually broken, but the have used it as part of our observing projects for classes at plans fell through. Of course, wishing for an observatory and WMU and KVCC. John Miller used the 12” SCT for his then finally having one are two different things. private research. Unfortunately, he realized that a bigger “light bucket” was needed. The observatory has also been For the first three years of its existence, Owl Observatory was used heavily for our public observing sessions and practically unused. I can’t recall one observing session where astrophotography workshops. Lastly, a handful of members the observatory was open. The reason was the telescope. The have used the observatory for solitary viewing sessions and original Owl Observatory telescope was a homemade 10” astrophotography endeavors. Newtonian reflector on a bulky equatorial fork mount. The mount had a clock drive, but there was no electricity in the So, the campaign to raise funds for the 12” SCT was a observatory at the time. There was talk of powering the success. The observatory is now used on a regular basis. mount with a battery, but nothing was ever done. Even so, the What’s the problem? The problem is we got a typical telescope was incapable of doing astrophotography or any Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and all the problems that come level of research. with them. The most notorious problem with SCT’s is image shift. Every SCT suffers from this to some degree, but the A campaign to upgrade the observatory began in the spring of 12” in Owl is the worse I’ve experienced. A Schmidt- 2000. The KAS raised money by selling 1000 pair of eclipse Cassegrain focuses by moving the primary mirror back and glasses for the partial solar eclipse on Christmas Day of that forth inside the optical tube assembly (OTA). This can cause year. I got the idea from a similar fund raiser the KAS did for the mirror to rock on the baffle tube causing the image to the May 10, 1994 annular eclipse. Much of the money raised jump around in the eyepiece while you focus. then went into building the observatory. Enough money was raised to purchase a Meade 12” LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain The 12” SCT also suffers from mirror flop. This simply Telescope (SCT). Before installing the telescope, several means the mirror shifts from one side to the other as it points other upgrades were done. Electricity was finally installed in different directions. This makes it virtually impossible to thanks to donations from Fritz Seegers and Jean DeMott. achieve a precise collimation. You cannot take sharp photos Matt Borton and his father, Gordon, built a heavy duty pier or see fine details if your telescope is out of collimation. and upgraded the track for the roll-off roof as part of Matt’s There’s also a great deal of flexure in the fork mount itself. A Eagle Scout Project. good mount should dampen vibrations in under a second. The 12” SCT can shake for several seconds. More weight like piggyback telescopes or CCD cameras makes it worse.

We’ve tried to solve the image shift and mirror flop problems with a new focuser and mirror locking device, but this has made little difference. The only way to solve the flexure in the fork mount is to replace it completely with a good German equatorial mount.

I believe our best solution is to completely replace the equipment in Owl Observatory with top-of-the-line equipment and accessories. Therefore, I’d like to propose a second campaign to upgrade the observatory. To accomplish this goal, we’ll have to write our first grant since we obtained non- profit status in 2004. The question may arise as to why I chose this as our first grant writing project. What about the land acquisition project or the Schoolyard Stargazer program? With any luck, the next telescope in Owl Observatory will be a 14.5” Carbon-Truss Ritchey-Chrétien Telescope from RCOS. The reason is that it’s the easiest. Owl Observatory already

Prime Focus Page 7 February 2007 exists and has proven track record. The only thing holding it back is the lack of quality equipment. This is also more of a learning experience than anything. The project may fail, but we’ll have gained valuable knowledge in the process.

What follows is brief list of some of the major pieces of equipment I’d like to get for the observatory. Please feel free to contact me if you’d like a copy of the detailed “wish list”.

14.5” f/9 Carbon Truss Ritchey-Chrétien Telescope Manufacturer: RC Optical Systems Price: $26,750

Nearly all professional telescopes built today are of the Ritchey-Chrétien (RC) design. The Hubble Space Telescope is itself an RC. A Ritchey-Chrétien telescope is a specialized Cassegrain reflector with a hyperbolic primary and secondary mirror. The result is a design free of coma, which results in smaller, pinpoint stars. This is the main reason professional observatories and advanced amateur astrophotographers choose this telescope. RC Optical, based in Flagstaff, Arizona, is the leading manufacturer of this design.

If our fund raising efforts come up a little short, then we could step down to the 12.5” model. However, if things go far The Paramount ME Robotic Telescope Mount by Software Bisque. better than we could imagine, it would be probably be possible to fit the 16” model into the observatory. Aside from STL-11000M Class 1 Research CCD Camera grant writing, we could seek donations from corporations and/ Manufacturer: SBIG Price: $8,995 or individuals. Donate the full price of the telescope (with mount) and you get to name it! Santa Barbara Instruments Group’s (SBIG) STL-11000M uses a 35mm format CCD chip with 11 million pixels. The sensor For more information on RC Optical and their products, array is 4008 × 2672 pixels, truly a large format CCD camera. please visit their web site: An internal automatic 2” filter carousel is included.

http://www.rcopticalsystems.com/ The rest of the “wish list” includes options for the RCOS and Takahashi telescopes, along with a complete set of Paramount ME Robotic Telescope Mount photographic and visual filters, Tele Vue eyepieces, image Manufacturer: Software Bisque Price: $12,500 processing software, and a few books so KAS members can become advanced astrophotographers! One item not included If you get a high quality telescope, you’ve got to buy a high that will be needed is a computer powerful enough to operate quality mount. The Paramount ME is a German equatorial the equipment and process images on site (if desired). Dave mount with research grade 11-inch gears that boast Garten once suggested turning the north portion of the unsurpassed tracking performance (5 arcseconds or less out of observatory into a warm room. This is something we should the box). Able to carry up to 150 pounds of astronomical seriously consider if we’re successful. Internet access in the equipment, and designed for uninterrupted operation, the observatory would also be highly desirable. Paramount ME can be used remotely or over the Internet. The mount comes with the Bisque Observatory Software Suite, It’s an ambitious project and may take several years to which includes TheSky6 Professional Edition and much more. accomplish. All the research I’ve done on grant writing says to “reach for the stars”, so who better than us to do just that. FSQ-106 f/5 APO Refractor (“The New Q”) My ultimate goal is to have the observatory fully equipped. Manufacturer: Takahashi Price: $3,995 That way, the only thing KAS members would have to bring with them is a CD or flash drive for your images or data. The last rendition of Takahashi’s FSQ-106 series was considered one of the finest refractors on the market for Aside from visual use and CCD imaging, the observatory digital imagers. The “New Q” has many improvements for could be used for asteroid and comet searches, variable star CCD imagers. Takahashi has redesigned the optical system to work, extra-solar planet detection, spectroscopic work, and a modified four element double ED Petzval system. The f/5 much more. Members could engage in these endeavors and system is optimized for wide-field imaging, but also makes a we could open it up to local institutions such as WMU and fine visual instrument. With a Coronado SolarMax 90 KAMSC. Our imagination is limited only by our ambition. hydrogen-alpha filter, this telescope will also double as a solar So, there’s my proposal. I look forward to hearing your telescope. comments and suggestions.

Prime Focus Page 8 February 2007 SpitzerSpitzer PeeksPeeks atat thethe PillarsPillars

The three iconic space pillars photographed by NASA's Hub- new Spitzer observations suggest one of these stellar time ble Space Telescope in 1995 might have met their demise, bombs has in fact already detonated, an event humans most according to new evidence from NASA's Spitzer Space Tele- likely witnessed 1,000 to 2,000 years ago as an unusually scope. bright star in the sky.

A new, striking image from Spitzer shows the intact dust tow- Whenever the mighty pillars do crumble, gas and dust will be ers next to a giant cloud of hot dust thought to have been blown away, exposing newborn stars that were forming in- scorched by the blast of a star that exploded, or went super- side. A new generation of stars might also spring up from the nova. Astronomers speculate that the supernova's shock wave dusty wreckage. could have already reached the dusty towers, causing them to topple about 6,000 years ago. However, because light from Spitzer is a space telescope that detects infrared, longer- this region takes 7,000 years to reach Earth, we won't be able wavelength light that our eyes cannot see. This allows the to capture photos of the destruction for another 1,000 years or observatory to both see the dust and see through it, depending so. on which infrared wavelength is being observed. In Spitzer's new look at the Eagle nebula, the three pillars appear small Spitzer's view of the region can be found online at and ghostly transparent. They are colored green in this par- http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/spitzer. It shows the entire ticular view. In the largest of the three columns, an embedded Eagle nebula, a vast and stormy community of stars set amid star is seen forming inside the tip. clouds and steep pillars made of gas and dust, including the three well-known "Pillars of Creation." Above the pillars is the enormous cloud of hot dust, colored red in the picture, which astronomers think was seared by the "I remember seeing a photograph of these pillars more than a blast wave of a supernova explosion. Flagey and his team say decade ago and being inspired to become an astronomer," said evidence for this scenario comes from similarities observed Nicolas Flagey of The Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale in between this hot dust and dust around known supernova rem- France. "Now, we have discovered something new about this nants. The dust also appears to have a shell-like shape, imply- region we thought we understood so well." Flagey, a visiting ing that a supernova blast wave is traveling outward and graduate student at NASA's Spitzer Science Center at the sculpting it. California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, presented the results today at the American Astronomical Society meeting The mysterious dust was first revealed in previous images in Seattle. from the European Space Agency's Infrared Space Observa- tory, but Spitzer's longer-wavelength infrared instrument was Astronomers have long predicted that a supernova blast wave able to tentatively match the dust to a supernova event. would mean the end for the popular pillars. The region is lit- tered with 20 or so stars ripe for exploding, so it was only a "Something else besides starlight is heating this dust," said matter of time, they reasoned, before one would blow up. The Dr. Alberto Noriega-Crespo, Flagey's advisor at the Spitzer Science Center. "With Spitzer, we now have the missing long- wavelength infrared data that are giving us an answer."

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Science operations are con- ducted at the Spitzer Science Center at Caltech. Caltech man- ages JPL for NASA.

Spitzer's infrared array camera and multiband imaging pho- tometer made the new observations. The infrared array cam- era was built by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The instrument's principal investigator is Gio- vanni Fazio of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astro- physics. The multiband imaging photometer for Spitzer was built by Ball Aerospace Corporation, Boulder, Colo.; the Uni- versity of Arizona; and Boeing North American, Canoga Park, Calif. Its principal investigator is Dr. George Rieke of the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Prime Focus Page 9 February 2007 NASA Space Place AA GreatGreat Big WreckWreck by Dr. Tony Phillips People worry about asteroids. Being hit by a space rock can really ruin your day. But that’s nothing. How would you like to be hit by a whole galaxy?

It could happen. Astronomers have long known that the An- dromeda Galaxy is on a collision course with the Milky Way. In about 3 billion years, the two great star systems will crash together. Earth will be in the middle of the biggest wreck in our part of the Universe.

Astronomer John Hibbard isn’t worried. “Galaxy collisions aren’t so bad,” he says. A typical spiral galaxy contains a hundred billion stars, yet when two such behemoths run into each other “very few stars collide. The stars are like pin- pricks with lots of space between them. The chance of a di- rect hit, star vs. star, is very low.”

Hibbard knows because he studies colliding galaxies, particu- larly a nearby pair called the Antennae. “The two galaxies of the Antennae system are about the same size and type as An- dromeda and the Milky Way.” He believes that the Antennae are giving us a preview of what’s going to happen to our own But looks can be deceiving: “Actually, the tails are quiet galaxy. places,” says Hibbard. “They’re the peaceful suburbs of the

Antennae.” He came to this conclusion using data from The Antennae get their name from two vast streamers of stars GALEX, an ultraviolet space telescope launched by NASA in that resemble the feelers on top of an insect’s head. These 2003. streamers, called “tidal tails,” are created by gravitational

forces—one galaxy pulling stars from the other. The tails The true violence of colliding galaxies is star formation. appear to be scenes of incredible violence. While individual stars rarely collide, vast interstellar clouds of gas do smash together. These clouds collapse. Gravity pulls the infalling gas into denser knots until, finally, new stars are born. Young stars are difficult to be around. They emit in- tensely unpleasant radiation and tend to “go supernova.”

GALEX can pinpoint hot young stars by the UV radiation they emit and, in combination with other data, measure the rate of star birth. “Surprisingly,” Hibbard says, “star forma- tion rates are low in the tidal tails, several times lower than what we experience here in the Milky Way.” The merging cores of the Antennae, on the other hand, are sizzling with new stars, ready to explode.

So what should you do when your galaxy collides? A tip from GALEX: head for the tails.

To see more GALEX images, visit www.galex.caltech.edu. Kids can read about galaxies and how a telescope can be a time machine at:

http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/educators/galex_puzzles.pdf

This GALEX UV image of the colliding Antennae Galaxies shows This article was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, areas of active star formation, which is not in the tidal tails as one California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the might expect. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Prime Focus Page 10 February 2007 StarStar PartiesParties inin 20072007

Pack your bags, collimate your ‘scope, and clean those eyepieces! It’s time to hit the road and attend a star party (or two). Listed below are all the major star parties (that we know of) that have already announced their dates for 2007. Registration deadline for each star party may be different (or even passed), so please visit their web sites for the latest information.

If you plan to attend any of the events listed (or not listed) here then let us know. Maybe other KAS members would like to attend. Plus, if you do attend any star parties this year, please write a report for Prime Focus. Clear Skies!

South Pacific Star Party Nebraska Star Party April 13 - 15 July 15 - 20 http://www.asnsw.com/spsp/index.html http://www.nebraskastarparty.org/

Northeast Astronomy Forum & Telescope Show (NEAF) Starfest April 28 - 29 August 9 - 12 http://www.rocklandastronomy.com/neaf.htm http://www.nyaa-starfest.com/starfest/index.htm

Texas Star Party Weekend Under the Stars May 13 - 20 August 9 - 11 http://www.texasstarparty.org/ http://home.bresnan.net/~curranm/wuts.html

Cherry Springs Star Party Stellafane May 17 - 20 August 10 - 11 http://www.astrohbg.org/s4/ http://www.stellafane.com/

RTMC Astronomy Expo Astrofest May 25 - 28 September 6 - 9 http://www.rtmcastronomyexpo.org/ http://www.chicagoastro.org/

Grand Canyon Star Party Illinois Dark Skies Star Party June 9 - 16 September 13 - 16 http://www.tucsonastronomy.org/gcsp.html http://www.sas-sky.org/

Rocky Mountain Star Stare Prairie Skies Star Party June 14 - 17 September 13 - 16 http://www.rmss.org/ http://www.prairieskies.org/

Apollo Rendezvous Black Forest Star Party June 15 – 16 September 14 - 16 http://www.mvas.org/AR.htm http://www.bfsp.org/starparty/index.cfm

Table Mountain Star Party Okie-Tex Star Party July 12 - 14 October 6 - 14 http://www.tmspa.com/ http://www.okie-tex.com/

Southern Skies Star Party Eldorado Star Party July 14 - 21 October 10 - 13 http://www.sssp.org/SouthernSkies/index.html http://www.texasstarparty.org/eldorado.html

Prime Focus Page 11 February 2007 FebruaryFebruary NightNight Sky...... Sky......

This star map is property of the This map represents the sky at the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society. NORTH following local standard times: However you may make as many copies as you wish free-of-charge, y Late January 10 pm so long as it is for non-profit y Early February 9 pm educational purposes and full y Late February 8 pm credit is given to the KAS. y Early March 7 pm www.kasonline.org EAST WEST

SOUTH

hortly after sunset during the apart between February 4th and 6th. in the sky) on February 10th, hence first 10 days of February, look Mercury may be difficult to see through visible the entire night. Best viewing for faint little Mercury less than the glow of twilight, but binoculars will be at about 12:56 am EST (on the 10º (the width of your fist held at arm’s make the task much easier. It’ll be at 11th) when it transits the meridian. It’ll length) to the lower right of the brilliant greatest elongation on the 7th. be 63º high and due south. The Sickle “evening star”, Venus. The first two will be just off to the west. A telescope planets from the Sun will actually be 6º Saturn is at opposition (opposite the Sun with 30× is needed to see the rings. KAS OFFICERS February 2007 Page 13 PRESIDENT Richard S. Bell 373-8942 [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT Jack Price Winter nights can be ideal for observing. When it's 343-3193 actually clear during a winter night in Michigan, the [email protected] sky can be unbelievably transparent. So, why don't amateur astronomers turn out in droves to winter TREASURER observing sessions? It's because it gets REALLY, Rich Mather REALLY COLD on a clear winter night! Now comes 629-5312 the time of year when the hardcore members of the [email protected] KAS brave the frigid temperatures to enjoy the deep sky delights that most people probably miss because SECRETARY/ALCOR of the frigid conditions. Roger Williams 375-4867 Saturday, February 17 @ 7:00 pm [email protected] Kalamazoo Nature Center

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE Jean DeMott 381-1406 [email protected]

Dick Gillespie 966-9653 In My Backyard [email protected] Saturday 11:00 AM, Sunday 1:30 PM

Dan Morgan Orion Nights 964-3156 Wednesday 3:00 pm & Saturday 2:00 PM [email protected] Secrets in the Sky Dave Woolf Saturday & Sunday 3:00 PM 762-8268 [email protected] Planetarium admission is $3.00 per person. The Kalamazoo Valley Museum is located at 230 North Rose Street in downtown Kalamazoo. For more information please call (269) 373-7990 or visit us on the web at www.kalamazoomuseum.org

PatchPatch ForFor SaleSale Only $4.00!

Pick up some of our brand new patches at an upcoming general meeting and show your KAS pride! Put one on to your hat, T-shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, and more. The patches appear exactly as seen in the image above. The dimensions are 4.0” x 2.5”. They can be sown or ironed on. If you’d like to reserve some before they sell out contact Norm Terry (327-0365). TheThe MilleMillerr PLANISPHEREPLANISPHERE

Having the right tools for observing is important and planispheres are essential. The Miller Planisphere is made with heavy duty plastic (cardboard versions will be ruined after a few dewy Michigan nights). Just dial the date and time and you'll see what's in the sky for that moment.

All planispheres sold by the KAS are 10.5” in diameter and set at 40º latitude. Perfect for our area but still accurate enough for trips to the southwest! A durable plastic case is also included.

All proceeds go toward the programs of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society. To order yours please send an e-mail message to [email protected] or look for them at KAS general meetings or public observing sessions.

$13.00 each

Kalamazoo Astronomical Society c/o KAMSC STAMP 600 West Vine, Suite 400 Kalamazoo, MI 49008

© February 2007, Stargazer Productions